Don't Let Me Go
by TJ Sparkles
Summary: Sometimes, despite your best efforts, things never change. Smoochy fic, oneshot.


**A/N: I'm slowly trying to get back in the swing of writing again. College and work have left me drained! I just put writing on the back burner, but I'm going to try and rectify that over the coming days! The following is just a short little blurb, Smoochy style! I guess you'd call this a challenge fic—Heel Princess gave me the prompt "he/she was/is different", and so I just took it and ran! I hope you enjoy!

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They simply stood there for what felt like hours to Stephanie, just staring at each other. It was almost as if they knew this was their last stand, but neither of them wanted to make a move to end it. 8 years. No matter how hard he tried to push the memory of their first date out of his mind, Chris could never do it. Truth be told, he didn't _want_ to. If he could pick one memory to remain with him until his dying days, that would be the one. When he closed his eyes at night, he could see, hear, even smell everything about that night.

But that was then. Now, in the present moment, Chris was standing in Stephanie's office, and unlike before, he no longer felt comfortable standing there. He just wanted to get this over with, as quickly and painfully as possible. _If _it was even possible. Could one just end an eight year relationship without any feelings whatsoever? Chris highly doubted it.

He didn't want to walk away, but Chris didn't know what else he could do. He loved Stephanie more than life itself, and if asked, he'd give his life for her. He'd shout his love for her from the highest rooftops, go to the ends of the Earth for her, do anything she wanted. As long as they got to be together, he would be happy. But apparently Stephanie didn't feel the same way. At one time, she'd had no problem going public with their relationship. She felt that there was nothing to hide.

And then something happened. Or, more importantly, Hunter happened. He'd found out about the two of them, and while Stephanie hadn't denied his accusations, she had promised that it would never happen again. Needless to say, that had hurt Chris' feelings tremendously, and when he left the WWE in 2005, it hadn't been because he was burned out, as he'd previously claimed. It was to get away from Stephanie.

And now here they were again. Chris had been hoping that they could possibly rectify the damage that had been caused all those years ago.

"I have to go," he said softly, stepping forward to exit the room. But Stephanie was too quick for him, and easily blocked the door.

"I will not let you walk away from us again, Chris. The last time was bad enough."

How did she think it felt for him? Walking away hadn't been the easiest choice for him either.

He simply stared up at Stephanie, his blue eyes filled with tears.

"Look, Steph, you know how much I love you, but I don't think I have much of a choice."

Stephanie's face softened.

"Is this about Paul?" She took a step forward. "Because if it is…" she paused to lay a hand on Chris' shoulder.

With a sigh, Chris gently lifted Stephanie's hand from his shoulder and brought it to his lips. A small smile played on his lips as he gently kissed her smooth hand.

"Don't hate me, Steph." The tone of his voice was barely above a whisper. "It's just easier this way."

"But…" her voice trailed off. "What did I do wrong?" She hung her head in shame, not wanting Chris to see the tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"Nothing," he lied. "I just thought things would be different. I guess I was wrong." And with that, he exited the woman's office, not even giving her a second glance.

The brunette simply stood there, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and hurt, with her mouth hanging open. After all they'd been through, after all the hiding and the sneaking and the lying, Chris was willing to just walk away from it, just like that. She knew she'd made a couple of mistakes in their relationship—okay, a _lot_—but she thought that when Chris returned, they'd be able to patch them up and at least be able to maintain a professional relationship, if nothing else. She thought Chris would understand that she couldn't leave Paul, at least not now. They'd discussed this before and Chris had seemed to be okay with it.

Or so she _thought. _

She angrily wiped the tears that were still streaming down her face away. Didn't he love her? Wasn't she enough for him?

And then, in that moment, it dawned on Stephanie that this situation was completely different. Chris had a family and kids too, whereas he hadn't before.

_He _was different, and so was she.

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End file.
